Who’s Tiger’s Next Caddy?

   Well, the wait is over. Tiger announced his return to Professional Golf. He will debut, again, at The Bridgestone Invitational, in Akron, Ohio. On his bag this week will be high school chum, Bryon Bell. Not only will Bryon be pulling caddy duties for Tiger, he is also President of Tiger Woods Design. Being his caddy is  a temporary duty, to say the least, as Tiger has stated “that he wants an experienced bagman, as he moves forward in his return”. It’s not as bad as some will report, as Bryon does have some experience caddying. He was in fact on Tiger’s bag when he won the 1999 Buick Invitational.

   Bryon Bell was part of the three man team, including Tiger’s college buddies, Jerry Chang and D.J. Hanlon. They all knew of Tiger’s cheating ways, and they told him he was flirting with disaster, until it was too late. In fact, Bell, while being privy to Woods multiple affairs, was primarily responsible for scheduling and coordinating the rendezvous between Woods and his mistresses. Bryon was tight-lipped then and most assuredly will remain the same this week. He will be grilled by the press from the moment he arrives and it’s something most of us would not enjoy, being under that kind of pressure. If he handled it before, he can do it again. Tread lightly though……Tiger won’t tolerate any kind of mistakes. I’m sure he’s been schooled.

   Getting back to the caddy for who part. When it was announced on 20 July, 2011 that Steve Williams would no longer caddy for Tiger, Stevie claims that it came as a shock to him. Somehow I find that a little hard to swallow. Let’s face it……they’ve been friends through thick & thin for 13 long years and Stevie pocketed a cool 9 Million $$$ along the way.  During an interview with Steve, it came out that he will be writing a book about his life before and during golf. This ought to be good, right! According to USA Today, “Steve has NOT signed a NO Confidentiality Agreement. So he will not have to censor any of his thoughts. I don’t think he’ll come out as being a total snitch though. You just don’t burn your bridges in situation’s as such. But then again, the more you tell…..the more people buy your book……and the more you make. He should be very comfortable with the millions he’s earned, along with the lucrative deals he signed with Nike and some of Tiger’s other sponsor’s.

   Tiger’s first caddy, Mike “fluff” Cowan was given the boot when he ran his mouth to reporters. I believe it was about the amount of money Tiger was paying him, along with percentages earned. I may be wrong though. Tiger will not tolerate any behind the scenes talk without going through him first. Let that be lesson number one, for Tiger’s next permanent caddy. 

   I don’t see Tiger being in the final parrings this week, as it will probably take a couple of weeks to become Tour Savy again. Things have to be a little rusty right now. Tiger’s swing coach, Sean Foley will try and not have a repeat performance such as was given during Tiger’s last 9 hole outing at TPC Sawgrass. I’m going with Hunter Mahan to repeat. Luke Donald and Phil Mikelson could figure in also. We’ll see though.

   There is NO Caddy School, to speak of says, PGA Tournament Official, Dillard Pruitt. Dillard played on the PGA Tour from 1988-96 and he won the 1991 Chattanooga Classic. He presently works as a PGA Tour Rules Official. If you want to caddy on tour or anywhere’s for that matter, you should adhere to some of these basic’s.

   1. Caddy at your local country club that has a caddy program or school. Go to the website of the Professional Caddies Association and look around.

   2. Wherever you caddy, make sure you develop contacts. This is crucial in developing relationships with golfers. They will know someone, who knows someone, who knows someone.

   3. Think about trying to find employment on the Nationwide Tour, European Tour, Hooters or any of the Florida Swing mini tours that take place. This is sometimes advantageous, as these golfers have their dreams also about making it to the PGA tour.

   4. Make sure you make yourself available, as an opportunity might arise at any second. You might have to take on different jobs until then, like becoming a starter, or green’s keeper or even mowing. Anything, as long as you are privy to any openings coming due.

   5. Most important…..Good Luck in your endeavour, as it usually comes down to luck. Remember the old saying, it’s not what you know but who you know.

Pursue Your Passion….Begin your pro golf career here!

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